Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Robyn Swirling: I Told Sen. Lindsey Graham I'd Been Raped. His Response Was Telling. (Huffington Post)
But I'm not counting on Lindsey Graham to support any of that. After all, he's already shown us that he's willing to cavalierly dismiss the anguished pleas of any sexual assault survivor who didn't pursue his very narrow perception of justice. And besides, if Blasey or I had recalled the dates we were assaulted, he would surely find any other reason to ignore our voices.
Willam Saletan: Kavanaugh Lied to the Judiciary Committee-Repeatedly (Slate)
Thursday's hearing didn't prove whether Kavanaugh assaulted Ford. But we do know the Supreme Court nominee wasn't honest in his testimony.
Alvan Chang: Every time Ford and Kavanaugh dodged a question, in one chart (Vox)
… only Ford made an effort to answer every single question. Kavanaugh actively dodged questions. He often repeated the same non-answer over and over. Other times, he insisted on answering a question with "context" - which inevitably was a long story about his childhood - but never actually answered the question.
DAHLIA LITHWICK: Fear a Justice Brett Kavanaugh (Slate)
As his confirmation steamrolls ahead, Americans should be terrified.
Rebecca Onion: Christine Blasey Ford Fan Art Is the Only Good Part of the Internet Right Now (Slate)
All day Thursday, I had an itchy feeling, as if I needed something to occupy my hands while listening to Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh testify. I made an elaborate lunch and refreshed Twitter. The artists who created the tributes below channeled that same nervous energy into fan art for Ford.
Josh Marshall: White House Imposes Tight Constraints on FBI Review (TPM)
… the two pertinent points seem to be these. The FBI will review the accusations of Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez but not that of Julie Swetnick. Perhaps more important, the White House Counsel's Office - i.e., close Kavanaugh associate Don McGahn - has given the FBI a list of permitted interviews. This list appears to prevent any follow up on a number of leads raised in Thursday's hearing, such as conflicting accounts of Kavanaugh's college drinking and the reference to Mark Judge's high school employment which was referenced as a possible corroboration of Blasey Ford's testimony.
Jennifer Rubin: It just keeps getting worse for Republicans (Washington Post)
Maybe it is a grand coincidence, but the decline in GOP polling fortunes in House and Senate races coincides with a huge dropoff in support for Kavanaugh among GOP women. Trump falsely and repeatedly says he won 52 percent of women. He actually won 52 percent of white women (suggesting nonwhites are invisible to him), only 41 percent of women overall. Some of those certainly are stampeding away from the party in House and Senate races as they watch the GOP fight furiously to the death over Kavanaugh, a Beltway elite whose own calendar doesn't support his self-image of a Boy Scout and teen feminist.
Lucy Mangan: The Flu That Killed 50 Million review - could the deadly pandemic have been avoided? (The Guardian)
Just when the Spanish flu pandemic begins to feel like an almost unimaginably ancient past, recognisable landmarks appear out of the mist of sprayed sputum
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Presenting
Michael Egan
said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Bruce
Anecdotes
• Dr. Martin Palmer grew up gay when being homosexual was thought to be a mental illness. He and his gay friends read the books that said they were abnormal, and they thought the books were ridiculous. However, as so many other gay men at the time did, he went to a psychoanalyst in an attempt to find out what had caused his homosexuality. Dr. Palmer says, "I remember going and constantly arguing with the doctor about being gay. He said I was resisting changing and refusing to be mature and responsible, and all kinds of things. We fought hard, but I won."
• Landon Ronald was a conductor in England who occasionally worked with Thomas Beecham; however, eventually Mr. Ronald seemed to disappear from the music scene. Mr. Beecham shared the same doctor as Mr. Ronald, so he took occasion to ask the doctor if anything serious had happened to him. The doctor replied, "Not at all; it is only a case of wine, women, and song, and I have told him that he must make up his mind to drop one of them." The next time Mr. Beecham saw Mr. Ronald, he asked him which of the three he had decided to drop. Ronald replied, "Song."
• Abba the surgeon was beloved by the residents of Heaven even while he lived on Earth. He had two consulting rooms - one for men, and one for women. When he examined a woman, she first put on a garment with many slits so that he did not look at her naked body. Outside of the consulting rooms was a box where patients could put their fees. Patients with money put their fees in the box; patients without money could leave quietly and not be embarrassed.
• Three doctors died and went to the Pearly Gates, where St. Peter asked each doctor what they had done on earth. The first doctor had worked with the Christian Medical and Dental Society, and St. Peter welcomed him to Heaven. The second doctor said that she had been a missionary for 11 years, and St. Peter welcomed her to Heaven. The third doctor said that he had worked for an HMO, and St. Peter said, "Come on in - but you can stay only three days."
• Margot Fonteyn once was surprised to find out that a man she had thought was half-Oriental was actually 100% Panamanian. It turned out that as a boy he had lived in Japan. His face was injured in an earthquake, and the Japanese doctors performing plastic surgery on him had given him an Oriental appearance.
• While playing in the poor play Alice's Boys, Sir Ralph Richardson once went to the front of the stage and asked, "Is there a doctor in the house?" After a man stood up and identified himself as a doctor, Sir Ralph asked him, "Doctor, isn't this a terrible play?"
• The German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, while in his eighties went to see a doctor, who told him, "I'm not a miracle worker, you know. I can't make you any younger." Mr. Adenauer replied, "I'm not asking you to, as long as you succeed in making me older."
***
© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
***
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Called my brother
Called my 84-year-old brother to wish him a happy birthday. Of course HE had to ask why I let all the "bleeding heart" liberals impugn his wonderful judge. Told him he was talking to the wrong person since I had been molested as a child and raped when in Liberia.
He managed to say he was sorry that he never knew about it before. I told him a lot of us are reluctant to speak up, that Momma took care of the old man who molested me in Macon, that it was an Egyptian diplomat who raped me in Liberia. "Did you take care of him?" "No, I was not physically capable of it." "Oh, you didn't have a gun?"
"I'm sure something happened to her, but I don't think he did it and has led a blameless life since. I side with him."
Changed the subject and talked about his birthday a bit. We hung up. I'm quite sure he has already dismissed what I said being as made up.
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
Sadly, I'm all too familiar with the phone call to a family member who loves them some trump. Sigh.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL!
THE FAT HISSING SNAKE.
KAVANAUGH HEARING-SNL.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Heard the coyotes, but didn't see them.
Austin, Texas
Willie & Beto
Willie Nelson may have been the marquee name at the "Rally With Willie & Beto" in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, but the rock star of the night was the candidate himself, Beto O'Rourke. The onetime punk musician and Democratic Texas Senate candidate had just given a stirring speech to the nearly 60,000 people gathered at Auditorium Shores, and it was all but inevitable that Nelson would call him back out during his headlining set.
"Beto, come help me do this one," the 85-year-old country legend said from the small, uncovered stage along the Colorado River, with the skyline of downtown Austin behind him. O'Rourke, his shirt covered in sweat and his sleeves rolled up - both hallmarks of his energetic and improbable run against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz - ambled out to help sing "On the Road Again," then stood there watching with a broad grin as Nelson played a solo on his trusty guitar Trigger.
Nelson's short, rapid-fire set leaned heavily on outlaw staples like "Whiskey River" and "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys," and his son Lukas Nelson delivered a furious reading of "Texas Flood." But it was the spirited performance of Nelson's new political anthem, "Vote 'Em Out," that was the night's spry call to action, in which he sings, "The biggest gun we've got is called the ballot box." For the most part, however, the Red Headed Stranger, dressed in a Beto hat and T-shirt, left the commentary to the politicians, saying simply, "All right, Beto!" in between songs.
Though Nelson's decision to play the free event, which also included Leon Bridges as a name draw, in support of the Democratic candidate had been met ahead of time with backlash from some fans, there was no hint of rancor or tension to be found Saturday. There weren't even gates for entry, as the public was allowed to simply walk up from the street. O'Rourke's speech emphasized the night's air of spontaneity and inclusiveness.
"We are not running against anyone or anything or any political party. We are running for one another and for this country that we love so much," O'Rourke said, to hearty cheers from the audience. "This is a campaign for the future, because the people of the future - our kids and our grandkids - are depending on what we do at this moment. Let tonight be a message to the future. Let them know who we are, what we believe in, and what we're willing to do to accomplish our goals."
Willie & Beto
Elephant In The Room
Stephen King
Stephen King weighed in on the Brett Kavanaugh sexual misconduct allegations, speculating that the Supreme Court nominee's emotional performance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday reminded him of someone recovering from alcoholism.
"Brett Kavanaugh's angry performance corresponds closely to what people in AA call a 'dry drunk,'" said King, who has struggled with addiction.
According to the American Addiction Center, a dry drunk is someone in the early stages of emerging from alcoholism, who has stopped drinking but has yet to remediate the underlying issues.
Some of the symptoms of dry drunks includes "resentment," "anger" and "romanticizing their drinking days."
Stephen King
Donates $10,000
Phil Lesh
Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh has reportedly contributed $10,000 to a GoFundMe campaign in support of Dr Christine Blasey Ford and her family.
Mr Lesh is said to have made the donation to the campaign "Help Christine Blasey Ford" on Sunday 23 September, before Ms Ford testified to the US Senate Judiciary Committee over allegations that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party when she was 15 years old.
A representative for the musician, who was a founding member of the acclaimed American rock band, confirmed the donation to Rolling Stone but declined to provide further comment. Lesh did not initially publicise his donation.
The "Help Christine Blasey Ford" campaign is one of two GoFundMe accounts which have raised over $700,000 collectively to cover security and legal costs for Ms Ford and her family.
In 11 days, "Help Christine Blasey Ford" raised $528,475 before it stopped accepting contributions, while "Cover Dr Blasey's security costs" raised $209,987. Both campaigns will transfer donations directly to the Ford family.
Phil Lesh
Kennedy Center Honor
Cher
The phone call telling Cher she was a Kennedy Center honoree was certainly welcome - but she admits she wanted to get it earlier.
The Grammy, Emmy and Oscar winner, whose ABBA-tribute album "Dancing Queen" was just released, acknowledged she'd long hoped for that call. She said she "wanted to get it so badly" during the Obama administration.
Now she will, at age 72, during the Donald Trump (R-Crooked) administration, which might make for an awkward gathering. A regular at anti-Trump rallies and marches, Cher ranks among the most outspoken celebrities against the U.S. president. The White House said no decisions had been made on whether Trump would participate in this year's Kennedy Center Honors program.
The Kennedy Center prize is given to those in the performing arts for lifetime contributions to American culture. This year's other recipients are the composer and pianist Philip Glass, country music entertainer Reba McEntire, and jazz saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter. The co-creators of the Tony-winning musical "Hamilton" will receive a special award as trailblazing creators of a transformative work that defies category.
Through it all, Cher no doubt will be paying attention to other happenings in D.C., keeping her eye on the Trump administration. "We've got to watch out," she noted. "There were signs at other times in world history and some people didn't watch them."
Cher
Stretch of Water Losing Oxygen
Gulf of St. Lawrence
A new study links rapid deoxygenation in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to two powerful currents: the Gulf Stream and the Labrador Current.
The broad, biologically rich waterway in Eastern Canada which drains North America's Great Lakes and is popular with fishing boats, whales, and tourists has lost oxygen faster than almost anywhere else in the global oceans.
The paper, which appears in Nature Climate Change, explains how large-scale climate change already is causing oxygen levels to drop in the deeper parts of this waterway.
"The area south of Newfoundland is one of the best-sampled regions in the ocean," says first author Mariona Claret, a research associate at the University of Washington's Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean.
Canada's fisheries agency has tracked rising salinity and temperature in the St. Lawrence region since 1920. They've only monitored oxygen since 1960, and the declining trend is causing concern.
Gulf of St. Lawrence
'Radical Vegans'
France
When the stone slabs crashed into her butcher's shop window last week, Elisabeth Cure became the latest victim of "radical vegans" who are trying to force a change in eating habits in traditionally meat-loving France.
The attack in a quiet town of Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines, 50 kilometres (30 miles) southwest of Paris, took place at 3:00 am, startling Cure as she slept above the store.
As in other similar incidents around France over the last year, her tormentors left a tell-tale tag scrawled on the shopfront: "End the Repression".
Incidents of vandalism and intimidation have reached such a level that the country's butchers' confederation, representing 18,000 businesses, sounded the alarm publicly in June and asked the government for protection.
Health scares, higher prices and growing awareness about animal rights have led to a gradual fall in meat consumption in France since the end of the 1990s, but most natives remain proudly carnivorous.
France
Lion Cubs
South Africa
Watching the two little lion cubs boisterously play with each other at a conservation centre outside of South Africa's capital Pretoria, it's hard to see anything out of the ordinary.
But these cubs are unique.
"These are the first ever lion cubs to be born by means of artificial insemination -- the first such pair anywhere in the world," announced the University of Pretoria, whose scientists are researching the reproductive system of female African lions.
The two cubs, a male and female, born on August 25 are healthy and normal, said Andre Ganswindt, the director of the University of Pretoria's mammal research institute.
Lions are extinct in 26 African countries and numbers in the wild have plummeted 43 percent over the last two decades, with roughly only 20,000 left, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which lists the African lion as vulnerable.
South Africa
Keep Flying Out of Antarctica's Ice
Bizarre Particles
There's something mysterious coming up from the frozen ground in Antarctica, and it could break physics as we know it.
Physicists don't know what it is exactly. But they do know it's some sort of cosmic ray - a high-energy particle that's blasted its way through space, into the Earth, and back out again. But the particles physicists know about - the collection of particles that make up what scientists call the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics - shouldn't be able to do that. Sure, there are low-energy neutrinos that can pierce through miles upon miles of rock unaffected. But high-energy neutrinos, as well as other high-energy particles, have "large cross-sections." That means that they'll almost always crash into something soon after zipping into the Earth and never make it out the other side.
And yet, since March 2016, researchers have been puzzling over two events in Antarctica where cosmic rays did burst out from the Earth, and were detected by NASA's Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) - a balloon-borne antenna drifting over the southern continent.
ANITA is designed to hunt cosmic rays from outer space, so the high-energy neutrino community was buzzing with excitement when the instrument detected particles that seemed to be blasting up from Earth instead of zooming down from space. Because cosmic rays shouldn't do that, scientists began to wonder whether these mysterious beams are made of particles never seen before.
All the explanations were intriguing, and suggested that ANITA might have detected a particle not accounted for in the Standard Model. But none of the explanations demonstrated conclusively that something more ordinary couldn't have caused the signal at ANITA.
Bizarre Particles
Weekend Box Office
'Night School'
For the first time in more than two years, a straight-up comedy is No. 1 at the box office. Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish's "Night School" debuted with $28 million in ticket sales, according to estimates Sunday.
The race for the weekend top spot was, in the end, a laugher. Warner Bros.' animated release "Smallfoot," which cost about $80 million to make, trailed in second with $23 million.
It's the second straight No. 1 for Universal, which last week led ticket sales with the Amblin Entertainment-produced fantasy "The House With a Clock in Its Walls." It earned $12.5 million in its second weekend.
David Lowery's "The Old Man & the Gun," which Robert Redford has said will be his final film as an actor (though he's wavered on that), opened in five theaters, scoring a strong per-screen average of $30,000. Redford plays an aged bank robber in the heist film co-starring Sissy Spacek and Casey Affleck.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday also are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Night School," $28 million ($5.5 million international).
2. "Smallfoot," $23 million ($14 million international).
3. "The House With a Clock in Its Walls," $12.5 million ($9.4 million international).
4. "A Simple Favor," $6.6 million ($7.1 million international).
5. "The Nun," $5.4 million ($16.2 million international).
6. "Hell Fest," $5.1 million.
7. "Crazy Rich Asians," $4.2 million ($3.2 million international).
8. "The Predator," $3.7 million ($7 million international).
9. "White Boy Rick," $2.4 million.
10. "Peppermint," $1.8 million ($1.3 million international).
'Night School'
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